THE  CORRECTOR  OF  THE  PRESS 

IN  THE 

EARLY  DAYS  OF  PRINTING 
DOUGLAS  C.  McMURTRIE 


II  II    I1  '■'■»  "■  "^'       ■     -  *— ■ *-» 

™  EXJJBRK  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFOKNIA  £3/ 


(Cfil 


JOHN  HENRY  NASH  LIBRARY 

<$>  SAN  FRANCISCO  <$> 

PRESENTED  TO  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

ROBERT  GORDON  SPROUL,  PRESIDENT. 
<$>    BY"  • 

Mr.andMrs.MILTON  S.RAY 
CECILY,  VIRGINIA andROSALYN  RAY 

AND  THE 

RAY  OIL  BURNERGDMPANY 


SAN  FRANCISCO 
NEW  YORK- 


THE  AMERICAN   INSTITUTE   OF   GRAPHIC  ARTS 

ART  CENTER      f      65  EAST  56TH  STREET      t      NEW  YORK  CITY 


Dear  Member  of  the  Institute: 

The  American  Institute  of  Graphic  Arts,  through  the  Committee  on 
Publishing,  takes  pleasure  in  presenting  to  its  members  as  the  fifth  item 
in  the  series  of  keepsakes,  a  book  written  by  one  of  its  members, 
Douglas  C.  McMurtrie.  It  is  presented  by  the  Conde  Nast  Press,  Inc., 
of  Greenwich,  Connecticut. 

Not  only  is  the  subject,  The  Corrector  of  the  Press  in  the  Early  Days 
of  Printing,  one  of  interest,  but  the  volume  itself  is  an  excellent  speci- 
men of  printing  and  binding.  At  the  request  of  the  Committee,  Mr. 
McMurtrie  has  autographed  each  copy. 

As  these  keepsakes  are  valuable  and  scarce  (most  of  them,  as  in  this 
case,  being  published  in  limited  edition  especially  for  members  of  the 
Institute)  it  is  hoped  that  members  have  planned  to  keep  their  collection 
of  keepsakes  complete. 

Committee  on  Publishing 
Edmund  G.  Gress,  Chairman 


December  i3 1922 


THE  CORRECTOR  OF  THE  PRESS  IN 
THE  EARLY  DAYS  OF  PRINTING 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

Microsoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/correctorofpressOOmcmurich 


THE  CORRECTOR  OF  THE  PRESS 

IN  THE 

EARLY  DAYS  OF  PRINTING 

BY  DOUGLAS  C.  McMURTRIE 


PREPARED  FOR  THE  MEMBERS  OF  THE 
AMERICAN  INSTITUTE  OF  GRAPHIC  ARTS 


CONDE  NAST  PRESS 

GREENWICH,  CONNECTICUT 

M  CM  XXII 


OF  THIS  EDITION  THERE  HAVE  BEEN  PRINTED  AT 
THE  CONDE  NAST  PRESS  AT  GREENWICH,  CONN., 
IN  SEPTEMBER,  ig22t  FOUR  HUNDRED  COPIES,  OF 
WHICH  THIS  IS   NUMBER    Q^(  1 


i^Ja^^A^A^^^^ 


THE  CORRECTOR  OF  THE  PRESS  IN 
THE  EARLY  DAYS  OF  PRINTING 

The  function  of  the  proofreader — so  often  praised  and  so 
often  damned — dates  almost  from  the  beginning  of  printing. 
At  first  the  printers,  who  were  men  of  no  little  education 
themselves,  revised  their  own  proofs.  Soon  after  the  inven- 
tion of  typography,  however,  the  responsibility  for  textual 
accuracy  was  specifically  assigned  to  an  individual  who  was 
in  no  way  concerned  with  the  more  mechanical  processes 
of  type-setting  and  presswork  and  who  manifestly  did  not 
give  his  whole  time  to  the  work. 

In  the  fifteenth  century  offices  the  proofreader  was 
invariably  a  scholar  of  real  attainments,  who  usually  com- 
bined the  role  of  textual  editor  with  that  of  corrector  of  the 
press.  The  accomplishments  of  some  of  these  readers  are 
recorded  in  the  colophons  of  many  incunabula.  I  have  ex- 
amined in  some  detail  the  evidence  of  this  character  occur- 
ring in  volumes  printed  in  Paris  during  the  fifteenth  century 
and  similar  evidence  can  be  found  in  the  colophons  of  early 
volumes  printed  elsewhere. 

As  there  was  no  early  literature  concerning  printing 
itself,  there  was  likewise  no  literature  regarding  the  second- 
ary typographic  function  of  proofreading.  The  earliest 
known  volume  on  the  subject  is  a  treatise  in  Latin  by 
Jerome  Hornschuch,  a  doctor  of  medicine,  who  was  a  cor- 
rector in  the  Beyer  printing  office  at  Meiningen.  He  took 
his  responsibilities  seriously,  but  soon— as  have  many  readers 
of  the  present  day— realized  that  many  of  the  difficulties  in 
handling  proofs  are  due,  not  to  carelessness  of  compositors, 

[   5  ] 


but  to  defects  in  the  original  copy  furnished  by  authors. 
With  a  view  to  possible  improvement  in  the  exactitude 
of  manuscripts  destined  for  the  printer  he  prepared  a  manual 
of  instructions  for  authors  entitled  OpOoxuuoypacpia,?,  sive 
Instructionis  et  Adtnonitionis  ad  scripta  sua  in  lucem  edi- 
turosy  et  operas  typographicas  correcturos,  which  was  pub- 
lished at  Leipzig  (Lipsiae,  apud  Michaelem  Lanzenbergum) 
in  1608.  During  the  course  of  this  treatise  Hornschuch  deals 
to  a  considerable  extent  with  the  qualifications  of  the  proof- 
reader. The  following  passage,  translated  from  the  Latin 
of  the  original,  is  of  particular  interest. 

"  He  who  purposes  to  become  a  corrector  of  the  press 
should  have  full  knowledge  of  the  languages  in  which  are 
to  be  printed  the  works  which  he  is  to  read.  He  should 
also  have  considerable  facility  in  deciphering  the  handwrit- 
ing of  the  learned,  which  is  often  extremely  bad.  One  of 
their  greatest  faults  is  defective  formation  of  letters,  which 
they  seek  to  excuse  by  quotation  of  the  adage :  ■  Who  says 
savant,  says  bad  handwriting,'  as  if  erudition  could  not  be 
acquired  except  at  complete  sacrifice  of  proficience  in  cal- 
ligraphy. And  there  are  frequently  to  be  seen  in  printing 
offices  manuscripts  which  a  hundred  eyes  would  not  suffice 
to  decipher.  It  is  thus  unjust  to  visit  upon  the  printers  blame 
which  is  properly  chargeable  to  authors.  Too  often,  it  is  the 
savants  themselves  are  responsible  for  inaccurate  texts. 

"The  proofreader  should  scrupulously  avoid  giving 
himself  over  to  choler,  to  love,  to  sadness,  or  indeed  yield- 
ing to  any  of  the  lively  emotions.  It  will  readily  be  under- 
stood that  preoccupation  and  agitation  of  spirit  are  likely  to 
give  rise  to  a  multitude  of  errors.  Especially  should  he  shun 
drunkenness,  for  is  there  an  individual  with  vision  more 
deranged,  or  of  greater  degree  of  stupidity,  than  the  idiotic 
corrector  who  transforms  Ranam  into  Dianam  and  Dianam 

[  6  ] 


into  Ranam?  Men  of  this  type  should  be  driven  out  of 
printing  offices,  for  it  is  out  of  the  question  to  give  them 
anything  to  do  with  the  making  of  a  book,  the  reputation  of 
which  often  rests  not  less  on  accurate  or  defective  typo- 
graphic execution  than  on  the  text  itself  or  the  author." 

After  some  comment  on  the  editorial  functions  which 
were  performed  in  the  early  days  by  correctors  of  the 
press,  Hornschuch  continues: 

"A  conscientious  corrector  should  sedulously  avoid 
drawing  upon  himself,  because  of  pique  or  wounded  vanity, 
the  dissatisfaction  of  the  author.  Never  should  he  make 
changes  in  the  text,  even  though  he  believes  it  can  be  im- 
proved thereby.  He  should  aim  always  to  maintain  with 
the  author  relations  of  cordial  and  intelligent  cooperation. 
Mutual  antagonism  can  result  most  disastrously  to  the  repu- 
tations alike  of  the  author,  of  the  publisher,  and  even  of  the 
corrector  himself,  should  some  serious  misprint  be  deliber- 
ately contrived,  as  in  the  instance  described  by  Erasmus." 

The  favorite  method  of  wreaking  personal  vengeance 
in  the  printing  offices  of  the  early  days  was  to  change  the 
spelling  of  a  Latin  word  so  as  to  change  a  serious  and  dig- 
nified statement  into  an  expression  the  sense  of  which  was 
obscene.  Such  was  the  incident  recounted  by  Erasmus,  to 
which  reference  was  made.  Perversion  of  statements  of 
principle  in  works  of  a  religious  character  was  also  a  cause 
for  apprehension,  as  will  be  evident  from  the  following  para- 
graph, which  will  be  my  last  quotation  from  Hornschuch. 

"The  printer  should  be  extremely  careful  not  only  in 
the  choice  of  persons  to  serve  as  proofreaders,  but  also  in 
the  employment  of  compositors  of  religious  beliefs  differing 
from  our  own,  such  as  Calvinists  and  others.  He  should 
refuse  to  employ  wandering  men,  foreigners  who,  after 
having  committed  some  grievous  error,  can  easily  disappear 

[  7  ] 


and  return  to  their  own  country.  A  corrector  of  ill  intent 
was  flogged  and  driven  in  shame  from  the  episcopate  of 
Wiirzburg  for  having  omitted  the  letter  w  from  one  word, 
thus  occasioning  an  obscene  expression." 

The  next  publication  in  chronological  order,  making 
reference  to  proofreading,  was  Joseph  Moxon's  Mechanick 
Exercises,  which  appeared  in  London  in  1683.  This  work 
is  the  earliest  treatise  in  English  on  the  technical  aspects  of 
the  printing  art.  The  qualifications  which  the  author  names 
as  essential  for  the  proofreader  are  so  numerous  as  to  be  amus- 
ing. The  British  corrector  of  the  period  either  must  have 
been  a  superman  or  must  have  fallen  far  short  of  Moxon's 
standards.   The  following  paragraphs  are  of  most  interest. 

"A  Correcter  should  (besides  the  English  Tongue)  be 
well  skilled  in  languages,  especially  in  those  that  are  used  to 
be  Printed  with  us,  viz.  the  Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew,  Syriack, 
Caldae,  French,  Spanish,  Italian,  High  Dutch,  Saxon, 
Low  Dutch,  Welch,  &c.  neither  ought  my  innumerating 
only  these  be  a  stint  to  his  skill  in  the  number  of  them,  for 
many  times  several  other  Languages  may  happen  to  be 
Printed,  of  which  the  Author  has  perhaps  no  more  skill 
than  the  bare  knowledge  of  the  Words  and  their  Pronun- 
ciations, so  that  the  Orthography  (if  the  Correcter  have  no 
knowledge  of  the  Language)  may  not  only  be  false  to  its 
Native  Pronunciation,  but  the  Words  altered  into  other 
Words  by  a  little  wrong  Spelling,  and  consequently  the 
Sense  made  ridiculous,  the  purpose  of  it  controvertible, 
and  the  meaning  of  the  Author  irretrievably  lost  to  all  that 
shall  read  it  in  After  times. 

"  He  ought  to  be  very  knowing  in  Derivations  and  Ety- 
mologies of  Words,  very  sagacious  in  Pointing,  skilful  in 
the  Compositers  whole  Task  and  Obligation,  and  endowed 
with  a  quick  Eye  to  espy  the  smallest  Fault." 

[   «   ] 


The  document  next  to  be  considered  is  an  early  volume 
of  ample  bulk  devoted  entirely  to  the  subject  of  proofreading. 
It  is  really  an  historical  chronicle  of  eminent  proofreaders 
and  their  work,  and  is  a  veritable  mine  of  information.  The 
author  is  Johann  Conrad  Zeltner;  the  title  of  the  volume : 
Correctorum  in  typographiis  eruditorum  centuria  speciminis 
loco  collocata.   It  was  published  at  Number  g  in  171 6. 

The  work  was  reissued  in  1720  with  a  new  title  page 
and  a  sixteen-page  life  of  Zeltner  added  at  the  end.  The 
sheets  of  the  volume  proper,  however,  are  the  same  as  ap- 
peared in  the  original  issue.  The  new  title  read :  Theatrum 
virorum  eruditorum  qui  speciatim  typographis  laudabilem 
operant  praestiterunt.  But  in  spite  of  this  change  of  title 
it  was  really  the  same  book.  It  would  seem  that  it  was  not 
a  best-seller  of  the  day. 

The  biographies  in  detail  are  not  of  particular  interest. 
In  the  course  of  one  of  them,  however,  we  get  light  on  a 
little-known  feature  of  medieval  printing  office  practice. 
In  some  offices  it  was  the  custom  to  read  aloud  to  the  com- 
positor the  copy  supplied  by  the  authors,  the  type  therefore 
being  set  from  dictation  instead  of  from  manuscript  copy 
placed  on  a  small  stand,  attached  to  the  case,  and  known  as 
the  visorium.  The  copy  reader  would  read  successively  to 
three  or  four  compositors  passages  from  an  equal  number 
of  manuscripts.  Zeltner  expresses  preference  for  this  ancient 
method  as  being  quicker  and  involving  fewer  errors. 

Under  this  system  the  compositors  must  necessarily 
have  been  educated  men,  familiar  with  Latin  and  Greek, 
the  two  languages  in  which  a  large  proportion  of  the  print- 
ing of  the  early  sixteenth  century  was  done.  The  impos- 
sibility of  finding  increasing  numbers  of  compositors  with 
the  requisite  learning  soon  necessitated  the  abandonment 
of  the  system.   Evidences  of  its  operation  can  be  found  in 

[  9  ] 


some  early  Greek  editions  where  the  incorrect  spelling  of 
words  follows  the  pronunciation  of  the  copy  reader.  We 
find  that  Henricus  Pantaleon,  who  later  became  a  corrector 
for  Froben,  performed  the  function  of  copy  reader  in  the 
printing  office  of  Isingrin  at  Basel. 

It  will  not  be  possible  to  discuss  the  relative  merits  of 
all  the  early  printers  with  reference  to  proofreading.  The 
names  of  several  stand  out  as  having  given  particular  care 
to  the  accuracy  of  their  editions :  Aldus,  Froben,  Robert 
Estienne,  and  Plantin.  At  the  Aldine  press  there  was  an 
academy  of  learned  men  who  served  in  the  joint  role  of 
editors  and  correctors.  Among  them  were  Demetrius 
Chalcondylas,  Janus  Lascaris,  Marc  Musure,  Benedictus 
Tyrrhenus,  and  Pietro  Alcinio.  At  the  press  of  Froben  at 
Basel  was  a  similar  company,  headed  during  one  period  by 
Erasmus  who,  in  many  ways,  was  the  most  eminent  scholar 
of  his  day.  Here  we  encounter  the  names  of  Sigismundus 
Gelenius,  Marc  Heiland,  and  Henricus  Pantaleon.  In  a 
letter  from  Erasmus  to  Froben  occurs  this  tribute :  "The 
reputation  of  your  printing  office  is  such  that  a  book  need 
only  be  known  to  have  been  produced  there  to  make  it 
eagerly  sought  after  by  savants." 

In  the  typographic  family  of  Robert  Estienne  it  is  said 
that  Latin  only  was  spoken.  Numbered  among  his  editors 
were  Lud.  Strebaeus,  Gerard  Leclerc,  Adam  Nodius,  Andre 
Guntterus,  and  his  favorite  who  did  important  work  on 
the  editions  of  the  Bible,  Guillaume  Fabritius. 

Christopher  Plantin,  before  he  established  his  own 
printing  office  at  Antwerp,  worked  as  a  corrector  of  the 
press  at  Lyons.  At  Antwerp  he  retained  the  services  of 
many  eminent  scholars  as  editors  and  correctors;  among 
them  were  Francois  Hardouin,  Victor  Geselin,  Theodore 
Pulman,  Antoine  Gheesdal,  Juste  Lipse,  Cornells  Kiliaan 

rip'] 


and  Francois  Raphelenge.  It  is  related  of  the  latter  that  he 
came  for  a  visit  to  the  Plantin  press,  and  found  such  enjoy- 
ment there  in  reading  proofs,  that  he  stayed  on,  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  he  was  expected  at  Cambridge,  where  he  was 
to  serve  as  professor  of  Greek  in  the  University. 

To  the  memory  of  Cornelis  Kiliaan,  a  distinguished 
philologist  who  read  proof  in  the  Plantin  establishment  for 
many  years,  a  monument  was  later  erected  in  his  native 
town  of  Duffel.  This  was  destroyed  by  the  invader,  but  at 
the  instance  of  the  committee  arranging  the  celebration  of 
the  fourth  centenary  of  Plantin's  birth,  a  new  monument 
was  erected,  and  dedicated  on  August  29,  1920.  Kiliaan 
wrote  in  Latin  verse  the  following  defense  of  correctors 
against  unjust  attack  by  authors,  quoted  by  Chevillier  from 
the  Theatrum  Vitae  humanae  by  Laurent  Beyerlinch. 

CORRECTOR  TYPOGRAPHICUS 

Officii  est  nostri  mendosa  errata  Librorum 

Corrigere,  atque  suis  prava  notare  locis. 
Ast  quern  scribendi  cacoethes  vexats  ineptus 

Ardelio  vitiis  barbarieque  rudis, 
Plurima  conglomerat,  distinguit  pauca,  lituris 

De 'format  chart  as  ^  scriptaque  commaculat. 
Non  annum  premit  in  nonum,  non  expolit  arte; 

Sed  vulgat  properis  somnia  vana  typis. 
tyuce  postquam  Docti  Musis  &  Apolline  nullo 

Composita  exclamanty  ringitur  Ardelio; 
Et  quacunque  potest  sese  ratione  tuetur, 

Dum  Correctorem  carpit  agitque  reum. 
Heusf  cess  a  immeritum  culpam  trans ferre  deinceps 

In  Correctorem  Barde  Typographicum. 
Hie  quod  est  rectum  non  depravavit.   At  audin? 

Posthac  lambe  tuos>  Ardelio  Catulos. 
Errata  alterius  quiquis  correxerit,  ilium 

Plus  satis  invidice,  gloria  nulla  manet. 

[»] 


This  metrical  apologium  on  behalf  of  the  corrector 
may  be  translated  line  for  line  as  follows : 

THE    PROOFREADER 

Our  task  it  is  the  glaring  errors  of  books 

E'en  to  set  right,  and  in  their  places  faults  to  mark. 
But  he  whom  writing  itch  harasses,  silly  fool, 

And  busy-body  with  his  vices,  and  barbarously  crude 
Confuseth  much,  distinguisheth  few.    With  erasures 

Disfigures  his  leaves,  his  writings  doth  smear  o'er. 
Not  till  the  ninth  yearf  doth  he  hide,  nor  smooths  with  art, 

But  spreads  abroad  his  vain  dreams  upon  the  speedy  types. 
Let  but  the  skilled  cry  out  that  with  no  touch  of  the  Muses  and 
Apollo 

Is  all  his  stuff  composed,  the  rascal  snarls; 
In  whate'er  way  he  can  doth  fend  himself, 

The  while  he  snaps  at  the  proofreader,  and  makes  him  all  to 
blame. 
Holloa,  sirrah!  Cease  the  blame  to  shift  in  turn 

Upon  the  innocent  proofreader,  you  stupid  dolt. 
What  is  full  right  not  he  hath  fouled.   D'ye  hear? 

Henceforth,  smart  jack,  lick  your  own  cubs. 
Another's  errors  whoe'er  sets  right,  for  him 

More  than  enough  of  envy,  glory  none,  doth  wait. 

Proofreading  came  in  for  its  share  of  attention  in  a 
number  of  the  royal  decrees  regulating  early  printing  and 
publishing  in  France.  The  history  of  this  regulation  has 
been  excellently  outlined  by  G.-A.  Crapelet,  in  his  Etudes 
pratiques  et  litter  aires  sur  la  Typographie,  a  most  charming 
volume  published  in  Paris  in  1837.  His  data  on  this  subject 
will  be  briefly  summarized. 

The  regulation  promulgated  by  Francois  I  in  1539,  for 
the  control  of  printing  in  Paris,  in  Article  17  made  the  fol- 

t  This  refers  to  the  Maxim  of  Horace  to  the  effect  that  any  composition  by  an 
author  should  be  hidden  "till  the  ninth  year." 

[12] 


lowing  provision:  "If  the  master  printers  producing  books 
in  Latin  are  not  learned  enough  themselves  to  correct  the 
books  which  they  print,  they  are  required  to  employ  capa- 
ble correctors,  under  penalty  of  arbitrary  fine.  These  cor- 
rectors must  correct  the  books  with  care  and  diligence, 
making  their  revisions  in  accord  with  classic  standards,  and 
in  all  respects  do  their  duty.  Otherwise  they  will  be  held 
liable  for  damages  incurred  through  errors  for  which  they 
are  to  blame."  This  regulation  was  continued  in  force  by 
the  successors  to  Francois  I,  and  was  promulgated  anew  by 
Charles  IX  in  his  edict  of  157 1. 

In  the  year  following,  however,  this  Article  17,  which 
had  aroused  so  much  opposition  among  the  parties  interested, 
gave  way  to  a  new  provision  which  went  far  to  lighten  the 
burdens  imposed  on  the  correctors.  In  the  declaration  of 
September  10, 1572,  explanatory  of  the  edict  of  157 1  relative 
to  Article  17,  is  the  following  order:  "The  master  printers 
shall  deliver  to  compositors  only  copy  which  has  been  re- 
vised, edited,  and  put  in  proper  form,  to  the  end  that  the 
labor  of  typesetting  shall  not  be  slowed  down  by  defective 
copy."  It  was  thus  incumbent  on  the  master  printers  to 
enforce  this  regulation,  demanding  from  authors  copy  meas- 
uring up  to  the  standards  stated.  Had  these  provisions  been 
rigorously  enforced  there  would  have  ensued  the  greatest 
advantage  to  every  one  concerned. 

The  Regulation  of  1649  lamented  the  fall  of  printing 
in  Paris  from  its  former  high  estate,  noting  that  no  longer, 
as  was  the  case  in  the  century  just  passed,  "did  the  most 
eminent  and  learned  hold  it  an  honor  to  serve  the  public  in 
this  occupation."  Article  26  required  booksellers  to  obtain 
a  certificate  of  correction  before  placing  on  the  market  cer- 
tain books,  such  as  catechisms,  lives  of  the  saints,  missals, 
breviaries,  and  other  ecclesiastical  books.    This  certificate 

[13] 


would  state  that  the  volume  contained  no  vital  error  which 
would  pervert  the  meaning  and  intent  of  the  church. 

In  the  year  1637,  a  professor  of  medicine  by  name 
Chartier,  desiring  to  publish  in  Greek  and  Latin  a  complete 
edition  of  the  works  of  Hippocrates,  could  find  in  all  Paris 
no  corrector  competent  to  read  the  proofs,  so  he  was  forced 
to  enlist  the  services  of  several  of  his  learned  friends  to  per- 
form the  arduous  and  exacting  task.  He  suggested  that  the 
following  regulations  should  be  ordained. 

1.  That  all  printed  books  in  which  appeared  a  certain 
number  of  errors  should  be  suppressed.  2.  That  no  master 
printer  who  did  not  know  Greek  and  Latin  should  engage 
in  the  trade.  3.  That  salaries  of  correctors  should  be  gen- 
erous and  that  only  the  most  capable  should  be  employed. 
4.  That  there  should  always  be  three  correctors  to  read 
each  proof  in  succession.  It  is  sagely  observed  by  Crapelet 
that  the  defect  in  all  such  regulations,  either  proposed  or 
actual,  is  that  they  do  not  indicate  just  how  and  where  a 
large  number  of  highly  expert  correctors  are  to  be  obtained. 

The  Regulation  of  1649  embraced  several  provisions 
akin  to  those  proposed  by  Chartier,  but  they  were  never 
enforced.  Article  56  of  the  Code  of  Printing  and  Book- 
selling, promulgated  in  1723,  reads  as  follows:  "Printers 
who  cannot  themselves  attend  to  the  correction  of  books 
shall  employ  capable  correctors  who  must  correct  the  books 
with  care  and  diligence,  revising  the  proofs  in  accordance 
with  accepted  standards.  If  through  their  fault,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  reprint  sheets  which  had  been  given  to  them  for 
correction,  they  will  be  reprinted  at  the  expense  of  the  cor- 
rectors concerned."  This  article  56  continued  in  force  all 
the  provisions  of  former  regulations,  but  by  reason  of  views 
advanced,  which  were  judged  to  be  valid,  Article  2  of  the 
Decree  of  Council  of  April  10,  1725,  so  modified  it  that  it 

[14] 


became  practically  inoperative:  "Printers  will  be  required 
to  exercise  particular  care  that  editions  of  books  printed  by 
them  shall,  in  the  future,  be  absolutely  correct,  insofar  as 
this  can  be  done." 

Finally,  in  1731  there  was  issued  a  supplementary  in- 
struction, confirmed  by  Decree  of  March  24,  1744,  provid- 
ing that  booksellers  and  printers  who  wished  themselves  to 
act  as  correctors  of  their  editions  could  do  so  on  condition 
that  they  be  responsible  for  serious  errors  which  were  to  be 
corrected  by  cancel  sheets  or  otherwise  before  the  books 
were  issued.  Authors  could  also  act  as  correctors  of  their 
own  books,  "but  in  any  case,  whoever  is  assigned  responsi- 
bility for  the  revision,  whether  bookseller,  printer,  or  author, 
will  be  required  to  put,  under  the  notice  of  approbation,  his 
signed  acknowledgment  of  correction." 

Crapelet  tells  of  an  eminent  medical  author  who  wrote 
him  when  returning  his  final  proofs  released  for  printing : 
"  Commend  me  to  your  proofreaders.  The  correctors  are 
the  soul  and  prosperity  of  a  printing  office." 

"It  is  in  fact  impossible,"  continues  Crapelet,  "and  to- 
day more  so  than  ever,  for  a  master  printer,  in  addition  to 
his  general  business  responsibilities,  to  read  proofs  with  that 
complete  tranquillity  of  spirit  essential  to  this  type  of  work. 
Education,  intelligence,  good  memory,  taste,  patience,  ap- 
plication, love  of  the  art,  and  especially  the  typographic  eye 
constitute  the  minimum  qualifications  required  in  the  cor- 
rector to  whom  is  entrusted  the  proofreading  of  the  office. 
For  that  matter,  there  are  few  printers  of  the  present  day 
who  are  capable  of  discharging  the  duties  of  a  corrector." 

"Let  us,  therefore,"  he  concludes,  "honor  and  encour- 
age these  useful  men  who,  through  their  modest  labors, 
make  so  essential  a  contribution  to  the  reputation  and  the 
prosperity  of  French  printing ! " 

[IS] 


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